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Visit Date: 9/11/15
Steps: 20,115
Parks Miles: 7.6
Time in Parks: 9

 
Trip Log:

Arrived at the Mickey and Friends parking structure just after lunch and to another hot afternoon at the parks. The car was reading 95 degrees outside. I used the Ball Road by pass and had no delays parking. Those on Disneyland Drive looked to be directed elsewhere with the garage entrance closed. After parking hopped on a waiting tram and headed for the parks. First stop today Disneyland. I spent some time wandering around Main Street USA looking at some of the Halloween decorations and caught a Dapper Dans Halloween set. Eventually made my way up to the hub and then verred into Frontierland as the Disneyland Band was making its way out. I roamed around Frontierland and then strolled along the Rivers of America and out to New Orleans Square where I grabbed a FastPass for the Haunted Mansion. The line was relatively short so decided to wait. It was posted at 30 minutes but took just over 20, which in the 90+ degree heat felt much longer! After my ride walked through New Orleans Square, catching the Boot Strappers and then passed through Frontierland and took the Big Thunder Trail out to the Ranch. This year the Halloween decorations are minimal out there and the Jamboree is not in use. Took some pictures of the area and then continued on into Fantasyland. Circled the area and kept moving out to Small World and Toontown. Walked back around the Matterhorn and into Tomorrowland. Took a quick look around then returned to Main Street to listen to the Disneyland Band. After their performance I went to dinner at the Village Haus then had some extra time so stopped by the walkthrough of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Once Soundsational ended made my way to Town Square for the nightly Flag Retreat that was to be a special edition today for Patriot Day - 9/11. After the ceremony strolled up Main Street USA and back to New Orleans Square to use my Haunted Mansion FastPass. After riding it was back to Main Street, walking through some shops for the A/C then over to Disney California Adventure to see what was going on. Roamed around Buena Vista Street then wandered up the Parade Route and down Route 66. Spent some time in Cars Land and then walked through the Wharf and out to the Pier. Circled the pier in a counter clockwise path and noticed there was no line at all for the Little Mermaid so walked right on, literally.. did not even have to pause. After my A/C blast decided to stop by Ghirardelli for some chocolate then walked through Cars Land, Bugs Land and into Hollywood Land. The Mad T Party Band was just about to take the stage so I stopped for their set then returned to Disneyland. The crowds were picking up and vs pushing through them found a spot on Main Street around 8:20 for Paint the Night then Disneyland Forever. After the fireworks made my way to the trams and managed to get on one fairly quickly to head back to the garage, find my car, and head for home.

Other Interesting Stats:
* Moderate Walking Stats (meaning over 2.5mph): 13,199 steps, 116 minutes.


For Comparisons to other trips or more park miles click here to visit our park Miles Section.

Note: These totals may be skewed because the pedometer is zero'd when we start and then left alone and read when we leave. So attractions, and other things may cause extra "steps" to be counted. The pedometer that we use basically measures up/down motion as a step, so if your standing in line and moving up and down it may be counting steps, etc.. so the total distances traveled and steps may be off.. so use these as rough distance comparisons between trips and they may not be accurate in terms of actual distance traveled.
Pictures & Video From this Trip:


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My Thoughts & Observations:

Hello everyone,

Friday marked the kickoff to the 2015 Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort as well as Patriot Day (9/11). The crowds were mild to light during the daylight hours due to it being mid September and the temps were in the mid 90s plus for us it was humid too. Come night fall the masses descended upon the parks as usual and the wait times and congestion around the parks went up.


Trip logs and mileage reports are in the Park Miles section.

Thoughts and Observations:

  • The original Diamond Days contest has ended and a new version has begun. I am unsure the changes but one is the text number has changed to Castle (227853) from Disney.

  • Halloween Time on Friday boiled down to:
    • Decorations along the tram route
    • Main Street USA decorations (banners, pumpkins on the buildings, floral Mickey)
    • During the afternoon characters in costume in Town Square (by nightfall they had switched to 60th Anniversary outfits)
    • Dapper Dans of Disneyland in orange and singing Halloween songs
    • Haunted Mansion Holiday & Ghost Galaxy
    • Big Thunder Ranch & BBQ decorations
    • Zocalo Park/Frontierland decorations
    • Merchandise and food - Here is a full list of the food offerings from the Disney Parks Blog

  • This year the Halloween Time festivities fell short in my opinion. I think the list of what was not going on was longer than what was. Maybe the thought is the Diamond Anniversary will carry the season? Or maybe not everything was rolled out for the opening on Friday?

  • This year the Jamboree Area was not in use, no pumpkin carving, no entertainment, and no characters in the ranch area. I thought maybe this would lead to an expansion elsewhere but on Friday there was nothing new going on. Over at DCA the Mad T Party which has had a Halloween addition or two the past couple years had nothing. As I walked around DCA the only indications of Halloween were merchandise and food items. No decorations or other nods to the season. The Buena Vista Bugle has not been updated for the season yet either, the Summer Edition was still on news stands. Should be interesting to see if more rolls out throughout the season or if Friday is all they are going to do this year.

  • It was nice to see Main Street switched to Orange for the season. The blue was wearing on me... I thought the integration of the Diamond decorations and Halloween worked for the most part. Will be interesting to see what happens for Christmas this year.

  • Haunted Mansion Holiday opened for the Season Friday and even with 95 degree weather and almost no shade the line was still posted at 30-40 minutes most of the afternoon and then growing as it cooled down. FastPass was in use on Friday. This year's gingerbread house looks great as always and is still my nemesis when it comes to getting a good picture.. I never seem to stop in the ballroom! The Hatbox Ghost received some holiday decorations too. If you are a fan of the Monkey bride, it is back but you will have to look back to see it. I will try for a picture next ride through. I missed it the first time then saw it when I took video the second on Friday. The graveyard on the hill was undergoing some work and the tombstones and pumpkins were MIA on Friday. Looks like a lot of new planting up there.

  • The Park maps received Halloween covers and a mention inside but no real details. The Times Guide for both parks have the Halloween color treatment but no events listed or highlighted. Not even a mention of the season.

  • Speaking of Times Guide be sure to check the park schedules on your visit. With the off season and Halloween Season hours are shifting around. Including Paint the Night and Disneyland Forever times.

  • Friday was the 14th Anniversary of September 11th and what is now called Patriot Day. The occasion was commemorated at the nightly Flag Retreat. Friday it featured a contingent of Disneyland first responders and security cast members that were honored and there was a moment of silence during the ceremony. There was a larger than usual amount of guests in the area and it seemed more than usual stopped too.

  • Before the event I happened to be in the right place at the right time to see the challenge coin for the day to be given out. It was a nice moment and the vet and their family looked to truly appreciate it. I think this is a great tradition that was started earlier this year and a perfect example of a Disneyland extra/plus.

  • Extra: On Saturday I was at the USC Football game cheering on my Trojans! FIGHTON! The halftime show was a salute to Disneyland's 60th Anniversary. It turned out to be more a salute to Disney with three of the featured songs being from the movies and not the park. But still fun to see. Here is a cell phone video I took:



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Interesting Web Finds/Notes:

Be sure to check out the picture update that goes with this Geekspeak column, it can be found in our Disneyland Resort Pictorial Update section

Send comments, questions, any other email to: disneygeek@disneygeek.com
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